TY - JOUR
T1 - Ag nanoparticle embedded TiO2 composite nanorod arrays fabricated by oblique angle deposition
T2 - Toward plasmonic photocatalysis
AU - He, Yizhuo
AU - Basnet, Pradip
AU - Murph, Simona E.Hunyadi
AU - Zhao, Yiping
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2013 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2013/11/27
Y1 - 2013/11/27
N2 - Using a unique oblique angle co-deposition technique, well-aligned arrays of Ag nanoparticle embedded TiO2 composite nanorods have been fabricated with different concentrations of Ag. The structural, optical, and photocatalytic properties of the composite nanostructures are investigated using a variety of experimental techniques and compared with those of pure TiO 2 nanorods fabricated similarly. Ag nanoparticles are formed in the composite nanorods, which increase the visible light absorbance due to localized surface plasmon resonance. The Ag concentrations and the annealing conditions are found to affect the size and the density of Ag nanoparticles and their optical properties. The Ag nanoparticle embedded TiO2 nanostructures exhibit enhanced photocatalytic activity compared to pure TiO2 under visible- or UV-light illumination. Ag plays different roles in assisting the photocatalysis with different light sources. Ag can be excited and can inject electrons to TiO2, working as an electron donor under visible light. While under UV illumination, Ag acts as an electron acceptor to trap the photogenerated electrons in TiO2. Due to the opposite electron transfer direction under UV and visible light, the presence of Ag may not result in a greater enhancement in the photocatalytic performance.
AB - Using a unique oblique angle co-deposition technique, well-aligned arrays of Ag nanoparticle embedded TiO2 composite nanorods have been fabricated with different concentrations of Ag. The structural, optical, and photocatalytic properties of the composite nanostructures are investigated using a variety of experimental techniques and compared with those of pure TiO 2 nanorods fabricated similarly. Ag nanoparticles are formed in the composite nanorods, which increase the visible light absorbance due to localized surface plasmon resonance. The Ag concentrations and the annealing conditions are found to affect the size and the density of Ag nanoparticles and their optical properties. The Ag nanoparticle embedded TiO2 nanostructures exhibit enhanced photocatalytic activity compared to pure TiO2 under visible- or UV-light illumination. Ag plays different roles in assisting the photocatalysis with different light sources. Ag can be excited and can inject electrons to TiO2, working as an electron donor under visible light. While under UV illumination, Ag acts as an electron acceptor to trap the photogenerated electrons in TiO2. Due to the opposite electron transfer direction under UV and visible light, the presence of Ag may not result in a greater enhancement in the photocatalytic performance.
KW - Ag nanoparticle embedded TiO
KW - nanorods
KW - oblique angle co-deposition
KW - plasmonic photocatalyst
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U2 - 10.1021/am4035015
DO - 10.1021/am4035015
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84889238816
SN - 1944-8244
VL - 5
SP - 11818
EP - 11827
JO - ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
JF - ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
IS - 22
ER -